Howrah News Service -  Latest news and headlines on Howrah,West Bengal and World: Climax provides the perfect end

Climax provides the perfect end
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ASIANAGE on 30 July, 2008 02:52:29
 
BY Rajesh Ravindran
Hyderabad
July 30: Climax Lawrence lived up to his name by providing the perfect finish
to India’s opener against Afghanistan in the AFC Challenge Cup football
tournament when he scored the solitary goal in stoppage time at the Gachibowli
Stadium here on Wednesday night.
India’s moment came in the 92nd minute and earned them three points. Skipper
Baichung Bhutia got past an Afghan defender and passed the ball to Sunil
Chettri, who could not quite control it. Even as a defender tried to clear the
ball, Climax pounced on the opportunity to slot home the winner.
Barring an attempt in the third minute by Abdul Saboor Azer, the first half was
dominated by the hosts. Chettri was in fine form and created opportunities. In
the seventh minute of the game Bhutia had an opportunity but the header went
wide. Constantly egged on by a decent count of spectators, the Indian
midfielders did not allow any of the Afghans to hang in long enough with the
ball in their territory.
Bungo Singh gave hope in the 28th minute when he took a shot which would have
sailed into the Afghan goal but for a beautiful one-handed block from goalie
Shamsi Amruddin. This resulted in a corner but India failed to convert it.
After 30 minutes the Afghans too started to turn the heat on and almost scored
on a couple of occasions. The Indians looked worried since all their efforts
were in vain. The Afghans took this opportunity and gave the hosts some jittery
moments. But India goalkeeper Subrato Pal stood up to his reputation of being
India’s best and thwarted every attack.
Hafisullah Qadami tested Pal’s skills and reflexes twice, in the 40th and
44th minutes but Pal flew to his right to block the first one and pouched the
second.
Action was intense in the second half as both teams went in search of goals.
Bhutia and Chettri made most of India’s runs into the rival half but the
Afghans too replied with equal force. Syed Bashir Ashmi provided the fodder for
the Afghan forwards but Pal kept his cool and continued the good job.
India coach Bob Houghton was happy with the win and said it would allow him to
rest a couple of players for the next match.
"We did well in the beginning but I think the boys started to get worried after
the first 30 minutes as no goals were scored," Houghton said.
The coach was all praise for goalscorer Climax. "I always had high regard for
him.
I remember him playing well in all the SAAF matches. For me, Climax is
definitely the player of the match," he said.
The Afghans were a disappointed lot. Coach Mohammed Yosuf Kargar said his young
squad did well. "We played strong. I promise a better show in the remaining
matches," he said.
In another match, defending champions Tajikistan were held to a goalless draw
by Turkemenistan.